Stalking of Doctors by Patients: A Case Study of Love Obsessional Stalking

Much has been written about stalking, especially when well-known figures have become victims of obsessive stalkers. In fact, the most likely objects of stalking are not famous persons or celebrities but ordinary citizens who feel rejected and angry after the breakup of an intimate relationship. Occasionally physicians and other health care professionals also become victims of stalking, although little has been reported about patients stalking doctors. This paper reviews the topic of stalking of clinicians and presents a case study of a plastic surgeon who became the object of a love obsessional patient, with erotomanic delusions. Guidelines for the risk management of stalking are discussed.